About a Role

It often happens when you least expect it. Out of the blue you receive a call from an executive search firm, wanting to know if you might have an interest in a position they are trying to fill for a client.

The opportunity seems promising, but you do not know what to expect.

What does the process entail?

How long will it take?

What will we expect from you?

As a potential search candidate, you are entitled to ask these questions and to have them answered.

We endeavor to provide qualified candidates for our clients who wish to fill senior-level positions. Although a contractual obligation exists only between our firm and our clients, we build and nurture professional and ethical relationships with candidates, whom we remain in contact with over a period of years.

We believe that the most successful searches involve a three-way partnership, whereby the candidate, the search firm and the client fully understand their rights, duties and obligations to each other during the search process.

When you become a candidate, you put yourself at a certain amount of risk with your current employer.

For that reason, you are entitled to the highest levels of confidentiality from us and our client.

It is important to remember that you do not become a search candidate until we have conducted an initial evaluation of your suitability for the position and you have expressed an interest in it. If either of these two criteria is missing, you cannot be considered a candidate for the position. However, even if the position about which you are being contacted is not right for you at the present time, you may still benefit from conversations with search consultants by being kept up to date with the market for your skills and experience. Candidates not selected on one search may be selected on another.

In order to make the right decision, you need to know as much as possible about the position and the client organization.

This ultimately requires full and open disclosure regarding:

The nature and requirements of the position

The compensation package

Whether relocation is required

Pertinent information regarding the client organization

Be aware, however, that during your first conversation, when you are still being evaluated as a potential candidate for the position, we are under no obligation to divulge confidential information about the position or the client. Only after you have been identified as a legitimate candidate should you expect the consultant to disclose more than the most basic information. Even then, there are times when certain information about the client must remain confidential until the final stages of the search process.

The completion of an search assignment can often take several months, with many steps between initial contact and the ultimate hiring of the successful candidate. Once you become an active candidate, we will communicate with you in a timely manner at each and every step of the process. This means proactively updating you on the progress of the search as well as responding in a timely manner to any inquiries initiated by you.

Based on our understanding of the position and the client’s needs, we will give you an honest appraisal of where you seem to fit the opportunity and where you do not seem to fit. If at any point in the process our client decides not to proceed with your candidacy, we will provide as complete an explanation of the client’s decision as possible.

We understand that your current position demands your full time and attention. When scheduling appointments and interviews, the search consultant and the client should demonstrate the utmost respect for your time, your position and your responsibilities to your employer.

While we represent the client organization, please do keep in mind, however, that we do not have complete control over the client’s communication with you during the process. If changes occur that contradict the information given to you by the consultant, you should ask for clarification.

We understand the best executive search placements happen when you have the time to make a measured, well-thought out decision. For this reason, the search consultant we never try to hurry your decision or put undue pressure on you to accept an offer. However, the consultant should keep you informed of any deadlines imposed by the client and the implications for not making a decision prior to those deadlines.

If the client decides to hire you to fill the position, you have arrived at one of the most important stages of the search process: negotiation of your employment agreement. This can involve highly sensitive issues in which the search consultant can play a crucial role of intermediary to ensure open and effective communication between client and candidate. Use this honest broker channel of communication to candidly express any concerns or special requirements that you may have on terms and conditions.

When the search process is completed and you have signed on the dotted line, please stay in touch with us for three to six months to make sure that your transition into the new position is a success. Feel free to contact your consultant with major concerns that arise. We may well be able to help sort out problems, and diplomatic intervention will normally not be resented by the client. However, search consultants are not professional coaches, and thus their role here may be limited.

If your candidacy does not result in a hire, we want to keep you in our pool of candidates for future assignments. We may contact you from time to time to maintain our relationship and keep you apprised of any upcoming assignments. We may also approach you to help identify candidates for assignments that are not a good fit for you directly.